Visible fiber lasers excited by GaN laser diodes

This paper describes and discusses visible fiber lasers that are excited by GaN laser diodes. One of the attractive points of visible light is that the human eye is sensitive to it betwe,en 400 and 700 nm, and therefore we can se,e applications in display technology. Of course, many other applications exist. First, we briefly review previously developed visible lasers in the gas, liquid, and solid-state phases and describe the history of primary solid-state visible laser research by focusing on rare-earth doped fluoride media, including glasses and crystals, to clarify the differences and the merits of primary solid-state visible lasers. We also demonstrate over 1 W operation of a Pr: WPFG fiber laser due to high-power GaN laser diodes and low-loss optical fibers (0.1 dB/m) made by waterproof fluoride glasses. This new optical fiber glass is based on an AlF3 system fluoride glass, and its waterproof property is much better than the well known fluoride glass of ZBLAN. The configuration of primary visible fiber lasers promises highly efficient, cost-effective, and simple laser systems and will realize visible lasers with photon beam quality and quantity, such as high-power CW or tunable laser systems, compact ultraviolet lasers, and low-cost ultra-short pulse laser systems. We believe that primary visible fiber lasers, especially those excited by GaN laser diodes, will be effective tools for creating the next generation of research and light sources. (C) 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.